How fast is too fast?

Pedestrian traffic increases in nice weather. Watch your speed.

Nice weather seems to invite people to speed. It also invites people to get outside and walk, run or bike on our roads and pathways.

Many drivers think that they can occasionally drive fast as long as they drive safely, especially within the low-traffic confines of the laboratory. But speeding increases the risks of crashes, injuries and crash-related fatalities.

To prevent accidents and injuries, Fermilab enforces
the same strict speeding standards as on roads outside the laboratory.

Fermilab adopted the State of Illinois Vehicle Code in 1995. Drivers on Fermilab property (whether they are employees, users, visiting scientists or guests) must obey the same standards that motorists are legally obligated to observe when driving on Illinois' public roadways. The maximum speed limit anywhere on site is 40 mph hour, unless otherwise posted. Weather and traffic conditions may make it necessary to drive more slowly.

Of the 444 moving violations written at Fermilab last year, 248 were for speeding, including 33 for excessive speed.

Judging by the speeding tickets issues so far this year, Fermilab security
is on track to see fewer drivers speeding but more speeders exceeding 20 mph over the speed limit. This year, security officers have issued 40 moving violations, including 23 for speeding. Nine of those were for excessive speed.

Fermilab's Traffic Safety Subcommittee members encourage motorists to be extra aware of their speed as spring approaches. Many people use the Fermilab site for recreation, so please drive safely. We don't want to meet by accident.

-- Chuck Morrison, Traffic Safety Subcommittee chair

Special Announcement

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: how it affects you

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Making Work Pay Tax Credit gives taxpayers a credit of 6.2 percent on earned income for tax years 2009 and 2010. The maximum credit is $800 for a married couple filing a joint return and $400 for other taxpayers. This credit is gradually phased out for individuals with incomes over $75,000 and $150,000 for married taxpayers.

Eligible workers will benfit from this change without any action on their part. There is no need to provide a new W-4. However, due to the limits indicated above, individuals and couples with multiple jobs may wish to submit a revised W-4 form to ensure that enough withholding is withheld to cover the tax for the combined income. IRS publication 919 and the IRS Web site
both provide additional guidance for withholding. Read the full memo (word document) to see examples and more information.

In the News

SuperB moves forward

From symmetrybreaking, March 16, 2009

This article first appeared in SLAC Today on March 16, 2009.

The BaBar and Belle B factories proved so successful that they have spawned a study for a successor: the SuperB factory. The proposal in Italy to build such a machine, which would produce electron-positron collisions 100 times more intense than the BaBar B factory's PEP-II storage ring, is gaining momentum, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory researchers are major players in the research and development efforts.

"There are many ways in which SLAC could be involved in SuperB in the future," said David MacFarlane, deputy director of Particle Physics and Astrophysics at the laboratory. "SLAC has key expertise to bring to this project, based on our experience building and operating the PEP-II collider and BaBar."

FY 2009 Budget

Pier Oddone

Last week President Obama signed the FY2009 Omnibus funding bill. The bill provides $795M for particle physics, effectively restoring the field to a trajectory prior to the disaster of last year. It also marks the conclusion of the continuing resolution under which we have been operating this year. This national budget for HEP is good news for Fermilab.
I expect we might receive a budget authority of nearly $375M. This budget effectively erases the terrible cuts of last year's omnibus bill.

We have been operating under the CR for the first five months of this fiscal year. Even with the severe restrictions we imposed on ourselves, we were spending at a rate that would have exceeded the CR significantly had it lasted the full year. Had the CR continued we would have had to take drastic actions in a few weeks to balance the books for the rest of the year. Now these actions are not necessary. On the contrary. With the Omnibus bill we can carry out an optimal program for this year that includes running of the Tevatron as planned until the summer shutdown that starts in June and move forward the programs and projects that will follow the Tevatron.

The Tevatron has produced beautiful new results that you have read about in several press releases over the last week (single top production, W boson mass measurement and Higgs mass constraints). The neutrino program and particle astrophysics programs continue to run well and promise a new round of world class results. Minerva, NOvA, and DES are moving forward forcefully, as is the planning for the future projects that are part of the P5 plan. With a good budget for the rest of the year we are in a position to deliver a great program across this broad front. No excuses! I will describe our plans at an all-hands meeting on Friday at 11 a.m. See you then!